Numerous medical and surgical procedures require the use of tubes for carrying fluids between a patient and various medical devices. Indeed, it is not unusual for a plurality of such tubes to be used simultaneously on a single patient for intubation of the patient or other purposes. Further, wires often must be routed between a patient and various medical equipment. Accordingly, it is often desirable to releasably secure medical tubes and wires to the skin surface of the patient, or to the patient's clothing, in order to insure that the tubes are maintained in the desired position. This is particularly desirable when a tube is being use for intubation of the patient and inadvertent withdrawal or movement of the tube could jeopardize the health of the patient or cause the patient discomfort. Accordingly, various tube/wire holding devices have been designed for maintaining the position of medical tubes and wires. For example, M. C. Johnson Co., Inc., of Naples, Fla., manufactures tube holding devices under the trademark Cath-Secure.RTM. which feature a butterfly base configuration which secures to a patent with adhesive, and features a hook and loop fastener for engaging the tube(s). However, such fasteners can be difficult to use and expensive to manufacture. Moreover, the components of hook and loop fasteners can trap body fluids and other contaminants, making such holding devices undesirable for extended use. Other tube holding devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,215,532; 5,037,397; 4,932,943; 4,823,789; 4,583,976; 4,333,468; 4,142,527; 3,927,676; 3,826,254; and 3,046,989.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a medical tube/wire holding device which is releasably secured to the body of a patient for securing the position of one or more tubes and/or wires used in medical procedures.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for maintaining the position of one or more medical tubes and/or wires relative to the body of a patient.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a tube/wire holding device which is easy to use and which can be repetitively used to releasably engage one or more medical tubes or wires.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a medical tube/wire holding device which is easy to use and inexpensive to manufacture.